


Casual Lovers Under the Covers Soon to Discover What They Feel For One Another

by BriMarie



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Aged Up, Childhood Friends, College, F/M, FWB, Fade to Black, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Lime, No graphic sex scenes, Pining, Secret Crush, high school musical the musical the series - Freeform, hsmtmts, rickini, ricky bowen - Freeform, rini - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:14:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25012225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriMarie/pseuds/BriMarie
Summary: After an unusual night, Ricky and Nini decided to become friends with benefits. It seemed like it would be a simple pact, but nothing in life goes as planned.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 10
Kudos: 74





	Casual Lovers Under the Covers Soon to Discover What They Feel For One Another

**Author's Note:**

> Based off a Stydia fic I read like four years ago.

It just kind of happened one night.

Big Red had thrown a massive birthday bash for his 22nd bday in his parent's home since they had been out of town for the weekend. Pretty much everyone at the party was intoxicated on something except for the designated drivers. 

Nini had just downed another shot that Ashlyn had given her. "Woah Neens, you might wanna slow down. What is this your 6th shot of the night? I kind of lost count after you went off to talk to Carlos a while back." Kourtney says.

Nini just waves her off. "Don't worry about me. I'm spending the night anyways. Plus, I came here for a good time!" 

"Well if you say so. Hey I'm gonna go catch up with Seb. I heard he is finally gonna try to make a move on Carlos."

When Kourtney leaves, Nini reaches for another shot, but she stopped when a masculine hand touched her shoulder. "What's a pretty girl like you doing here standing all alone?"

Before she even looks to see who it was, she thinks of a million ways to break someone's wrist. She smiles when she sees it's her bushy headed friend. "Waiting for an attractive guy to approach me obviously." 

He smirks and lifts a brow suggestively. "Is that so? Any luck so far?"

"Mm nope not really."

He makes a mock hurt face. "Ouch you hurt me Neens."

She chuckles and playfully nudged him. "What's up with you anyways? I feel like I haven't seen you at all at this party."

"Yeah I've kinda been playing beer pong and spicy uno in the basement since the beginning of the party. I got kinda bored and wanted a quieter scene, so I came up here, saw you alone, and the rest is history."

"Yeah I've been dancing and drinking all night with Carlos, Ashlyn, and Kourtney. I think I kinda wanna chill for the rest of the night too."

"You know, I heard that upstairs was pretty quiet since most of the rooms are off limits. I doubt Red would care if we went in one of the guest rooms since it's just us."

"Yeah I'm down for that."

He takes her hand and leads her up the stairs. They enter the first room that was unoccupied and plop down on their backs on the queen sized bed.

He rolls over to his side and rest his head on his palm to look at her. "So how's life been? I feel like we haven't had time to fully catch up in the last two months even though we go to the same school. Ever since you started that job of yours in Park City, you just kind of stayed to yourself."

She matched his pose. "Pretty good I guess. My boss as usual is kind of a dick. I'm just glad we're finally almost done with college forever, so I can start my life already and look for a better job." 

"You can say that again, and yeah I remember you calling me at random hours of the night just to rant about your boss a few times when you first started. Are they still not appreciating your talents enough?"

"Unfortunately yes. She won't let me come anywhere near the recording room unless I'm serving her, the producers, or artists some food or whatever. They treat me like I'm the damn help or something."

He places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "She doesn't deserve you. You're way too good for that stupid job anyways. If she can't see that yet, then she must be blind because you're obviously one in a million."

She felt her face heat up, and it wasn't from the alcohol. She didn't even notice she had scooted a little bit closer to his side of the bed. 

"You really think so?"

"Of course! I meant every word."

"I mean if she doesn't see my talent then maybe I'm not as talented as I thought."

"Don't say that Neens."

"You're only saying that because you're my friend."

He grabs both sides of her face forcing her to look directly into his eyes. She can't even recall the last time she saw such an intense look on his face.

"Nina Salazar-Roberts, I swear to god. You are literally the epitome of talent and perfection. I will not let anyone especially your own self talk horribly about you. You. Are. Perfect. End of discussion."

She put her hand on top of one of his and grinned. "Thank you."

She didn't know if it came from the alcohol, but all she knew was that she had a sudden urge to feel his body pressed against hers. She inches her body over to him so close that she can feel his breathing on her face. He doesn't remove his grip on her face and seems to be welcoming of her closeness.

She trails her nimble fingers across his face, and in a millisecond she presses her lips against his. He finally lets go of her face and moves his hands down to her back. He rolls on top of her without disconnecting their lips.

And all of a sudden their clothes are on the floor and their bare chest are touching and the occasional moan would slip out of one of their mouths.

***

Nini had woken to the horrible sensation of sunlight shining threw the window beaming on her face, and it really didn't help that she had a minor headache from all that alcohol consumption the previous night.

She realized quickly that she indeed was not in her apartment and was in an unfamiliar bedroom. She wipes her eyes and looked over at the other side of the bed and almost had a heart attack when she saw Ricky shirtless beside her.

He was peacefully snoring while his arm rested on her torso. She looked under the covers and noticed they were both fully naked. 

"Fuck."

He begins to stir in his sleep and eventually opens his eyes to see her covering her body with the sheets. He pops up and scoots to the edge of the bed in shock.

"Woah what the hell? Did we-

"Yeah I'm pretty sure we did."

"Are you sure? Cuz I-

"We're both naked Ricky. I can't imagine we were just sleeping next to each other naked without anything happening."

He looks under the sheets and blushes madly when he sees a little bit of her naked body in the corner of his eye. 

"Geez how drunk were we? I remember coming in here with you and us talking and... oh wait, now I'm starting to remember." They both blush when they start reminiscing on last nights events.

"Well it doesn't really matter how it happened. It's insane that it even happened at all." She got up bringing the sheets with her to pick up her clothes. She went to the bathroom to go put her clothes back on.

When she came out, Ricky was already dressed and was waiting on the bed for her.

"So what now? Do we just carry on like nothing happened?"

"I just need some time to take this in Ricky."

She walked to the door, but was stopped by his grasp on her arm. "Are we good?" 

She hesitates before answering. "Yeah we're good." She doesn't even meet his eye when she says it, which didn't exactly sit well with him. Before more words can be exchanged, she leaves him in that room.

***

They weren't good.

It was a little awkward between the two after the first week. They had always turned red in the face when they saw each other, or would purposely dodge the other if they saw them coming their way. Of course their friends had picked up on it almost immediately, but both gave sorry excuses for their odd behavior.

When their friends had had enough of this tiptoeing around each other, Ashlyn and Kourtney pulled Nini aside while they were hanging out at her and Kourtney's place.

"Nini what happened between you and Ricky? You guys have never acted like this around each other." Ashlyn asks.

Nini hugs her legs and tries to hide her face in them so that they couldn't see the redness that was surely visible on her cheeks.

"Nothing happened."

Kourtney and Ashlyn rolled their eyes. "Neens, you two can barely look each other in the eye without running the opposite direction. I literally saw you go the long way to class the other day when you saw him walking down the hall the other day." Kourtney says.

Nini sighs; she knew they weren't stupid enough to believe that sorry excuse. "I'm not ready to talk about it yet. Maybe another day." Ashlyn and Kourtney both looked at each other and decided to back off for now. 

Two weeks went by, and Nini was really starting to miss him, like a lot. She usually would've hung out with him a few times or at least called during these three weeks. It felt like a part of her was missing. She was trying her best to focus on her homework, but she couldn't due to her guilt of not reaching out to him.

After 15 minutes of staring blankly at her worksheet, she finally quit. This little hiatus needed to end now. It was just ridiculous that they would just stop talking to each other over something so minuscule. She grabbed her keys and drove over to his apartment complex.

When she walked up to his door, she had to work up the nerve to even knock. Right when she got the courage to knock, he opened it. They both were taken aback not expecting to see each other. 

"Nini, what're you doing here?"

She almost forgets how to talk when he speaks to her. "I uh...I just wanted to... can I just come in?"

He doesn't say a word when he lets her in his place. She looks around to see if they were alone. "Is Red here?" He just shakes his head.

"It's just you and me."

"Coooolll." She drags.

An awkward silence falls upon them both not wanting to look each other in the eye.

"So what did you wanna talk about?" He asks.

She finally looks up at him. "Oh yeah, um I wanted to talk about us, or should I say what happened between us at Red's party. You know in that bedroom where we did that thing."

"Yes, I remember. I was there." 

She rolls her eyes when she sees a smirk beginning to form on his face. "I just wanted to say that I think we're both being stupid and should just put this behind us. I mean it just seems silly that we're avoiding each other like the plague just because we hooked up once. I was afraid that our friendship would end over something so dumb if I didn't just come over here and resolve this little thing between us. Don't you think?"

He nods, and she can tell that he was starting to become a little more relaxed. "I'm glad you came here because honestly I can't recall the last time I ever went this long without talking to you. To be honest, it felt really lonely even though I have other friends. And yeah it would've been stupid to ignore each other any longer over something as silly as sex. So are we actually good this time?"

"Yep, we're actually good."

He beams and walks over to to give her a hug. As she hugged him back, she couldn't help but feel like she was coming home. He let go and looked down at her with a big smile. 

"You can stay a little while if you want. I didn't have any plans anyways."

"That sounds amazing actually. I really wanted to find an excuse to escape my homework. Also, we're definitely in need of a much needed hang out."

"Couldn't agree more. I never want to be Nini deprived again."

She blushed and puffed air out of her nose. They found their way to his couch and immediately cuddle with each other like they usually do. He turns the tv on, and the movie No Strings Attached happened to be playing. 

He chuckled at the irony of that playing of all movies right after their little talk, and she seemed to have been thinking the same thing.

"You know, I'm not gonna lie. I actually didn't find the sex that bad like at all." He blushes and awkwardly scratches the back of his head. She looks up at him a little thrown by his words.

"Really?"

He keeps his eyes on the screen in front of him too abashed by his comment.

"Yeah really."

The corner of her mouth lifted it up a little. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it too. Despite being a little drunk, I began to remember everything during our little hiatus."

He just nodded as he was trying his best to find the balls to ask the burning question in the back of his head. After five minutes of comfortable silence, he turns his body towards hers.

"Okay hear me out, so we both liked the sex. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind doing it again. What if we started a little pact? We can have just casual sex on occasion no strings attached and no ignoring each other for three weeks cuz God knows I don't wanna make that mistake again."

She wiggles her brow and crosses her arms. She allowed herself to think for a moment before answering. "I'm listening."

"So I was thinking that we could maybe make some rules or something to prevent from getting hurt or any other negative outcome. How's that sound?"

She inclines her head. "Actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea."

He makes a boyish simper. "Great, okay first thing we need to do is write down all the rules for this little pact. I'll put it on my notes app." He whipped out his phone ready to type.

"The first rule should be that it's just casual sex. Nothing more." He suggests.

She nods in approval. "Yeah I like that; it's straight forward."

"You got any ideas?"

"How about we can cut it off at anytime? Like if we end up dating someone we obviously would stop or if we just simply want to end it just cuz."

He nods as he added that to the list. "Oo I like that one too. Oh I just thought of one! I don't think we should tell anyone especially our friends. They would be hella annoying about it and probably would blow it out of proportion."

"Yeah I agree, and it doesn't help that they already call us a couple. That would only add fuel to the fire. Also, I think the secret makes it hotter."

"It does doesn't it?" He smirks as he added that rule to the list.

"Another rule should be that we don't sleep in the same bed. I feel like it's a little on the romantic side for you to stay in the same bed with me. Plus, that would risk possibly being caught by our friends."

He wrinkles his nose at that idea. He actually would've liked to stay in bed with her after sex since he always loved her cuddles, but it wasn't worth risking getting caught.

"Yeah I'm cool with that. Anything else?"

She ponders but eventually shrugs. "I think that's good."

"Alright shall we get back to the movie that just so happens to relate to our situation?" 

"Hm sure or we could totally have a go at it while I'm still here." She jokes.

"Damn Neens, it's only been like..." He checks his imaginary watch. "15 seconds since we made the list and you're already ready to pounce on me. Someone's eager." 

She crawls into his lap and swings her arm around his neck. "Hey, you're the one who invited me to stay longer and you're the one who even thought of the rules, so ha!"

He absentmindedly rubs his hand up and down her back while his other hand was gripping onto her upper thigh. "Oof you got me there."

They both laughed at each other, but their laughter started to die down when they both looked at each other. He had given her that same lustful gaze from that fateful night all those weeks ago.

In the blink of an eye, they both jumped on each other causing him to fall on top of her on the couch. This kiss wasn't like the drunken ones from that night. This kiss was rough, sloppy, and full of pent up lust for each other. She breaks the kiss just for a moment.

"Should we take this to your bedroom? Red might come in any moment."

"Yeah that's a good idea actually. He's supposed to be here in like 45 minutes. Do you think that's enough time?"

She smirks suggestively and tightens her legs around his waist to pull him closer. "I'll see what I can do."

He bonds their lips together and carries her to his bedroom slamming the door behind him.

***

Their system works.

They've been following their little rules for the past two weeks now, and they both agreed that it was honestly really fun sneaking around and learning what the other likes.

They almost got caught once by Ashlyn when they're at her place. She had invited him over for a study date with no intention on having sex, but one thing led to another and they both ended up panting under her sheets 10 minutes later.

Ashlyn had knocked and peaked her head in threw the door before Nini could answer. Apparently, she wanted to know if she wanted to go to a cafe with her. Luckily, Ricky had been out of her view since he was standing on the other side of the door half naked.

Nini had given her a lame excuse on why she couldn't go and thankfully she didn't pester her and left her alone. Ricky let out a sigh and joined her back on the bed. He picked her up and placed her on his lap to pepper kiss all over her body. 

Let's just say they didn't get a lot of studying done that day.

***

The gang started to become suspicious.

It had been a little over a month since their little agreement, and they had been pretty touchy feely with each other in public. It wasn't anything new for them to give the occasional hug or for him to wrap his arm around her at a booth, but recently they literally could not take their hands off each other. 

The moment Ricky walked in a room, the first person he'd look for is Nini. When he finds her, he would hold onto her the whole night, and she'd do the same. Their friends didn't want to address it since they were afraid that they would make things awkward for them. 

They all knew that both of them were pretty stubborn, and it would be a pointless discussion to try to get them to confess what was going on. The pair didn't even tell them what made them avoid each other for three weeks all that time ago. 

They just kinda started talking again as if nothing happened, and the gang just went with it deciding it was for the best not to get involved. 

The group was currently hanging out in one of the lounge rooms of their college trying to decide whether they wanted to attend a local concert or go roller skating this weekend. Nini and Ricky naturally isolated themselves from the group as they debated not really caring which activity they chose.

Ricky's arm was wrapped around her shoulder while Nini was laying her body against his. Nini absentmindedly played with his fingers as they talked about their days. 

"I think we should go to the concert because we rarely witness them in this town for free. Also, we can go roller skating anytime." Carlos says.

Seb nods in agreement. "I second that."

Gina shakes her head. "I still say roller skating."

"I want roller skating too." Ashlyn claims.

"Well I vote concert. Haven't been to one in a while." Kourtney adds.

"Nah I want roller skating." Big Red states.

"Well that's 3-3 so we need to have a majority vote. Who hasn't said anything yet?" Carlos asked. They all turn their heads to Ricky and Nini who still were in their own little world.

"Excuse me lovebirds, but we're trying to decide what we want to do this weekend. It'd be great if you at least pretended to listen." Carlos says sassily.

Ricky and Nini finally looked at the group. "Oh yeah we're down for either to be honest." Ricky says.

"We're tied right now, and you two are the deciding votes." Seb says.

Ricky and Nini look at each other and share some kind of wordless conversation with their eyes. "We choose concert." Nini states.

A series of "yeses" and a few swear words were said throughout the room. Carlos claps his hands rather loudly. "Alright then it's decided. We're going to the local concert this weekend. Oh my god, I have to choose my outfit!" Carlos drops everything and runs back to his apartment.

Ricky and Nini get up hand in hand. "Yeah we're gonna head out too." They wave their friends goodbye, and the others watch their movements carefully as they exit. They wait until they're fully out of sight before they discuss the pair.

"Okay am I crazy, or are those two way closer recently?" Seb asks.

"Yeah I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed. Sometimes I'll come home and they'll be cuddling on the couch while watching some 00's rom com." Kourtney says.

"I wonder if they notice they're even doing it." Gina states.

"I want to ask one of them about it so bad, but knowing both of them they'll get all defensive about it. I say we just let them be, and wait for them to say something to us." Big Red says.

They all agree, and leave it at that. When the concert day came, the gang really wanted to confront them more than ever. They had unintentional matching outfits, and Ricky literally could not keep his hands off of her the entire night. The only time they were apart was when one of them went to the bathroom.

While the artists were performing, Ricky's head was resting on top of hers as they rocked side to side to the music. Her hands were laying on top of his and both of them had the cheesiest smiles printed on their faces all night.

Gina nudges Big Red and points at them. "I bet you $30 that they'll end up together by the end of the semester." 

Big Red smirked loving a challenge. "I bet you they'll get together by finals. I have a feeling it'll be a lot sooner than we think." 

Gina holds out her hand and he shakes it. "You're so on."

Ricky and Nini leave the crowd for a while claiming they wanted to get churros, which they all didn't pay much attention to. Seb also happened to already be near the concession stands getting a pretzel, and he saw Ricky and Nini standing alone by a tree talking.

He was about to walk up to them to ask what they were doing but stopped when he saw Nini reach up to kiss Ricky square on the lips. Seb almost thought he was imagining things, but realized that he indeed witnessed them kiss. 

He watched as Ricky's face glowed after the brief kiss, and Seb couldn't help but smile at their cuteness. Whatever they had going on was sweet and was clearly meant to be a secret.

He decided not to tell anyone. 

***

They break one of their rules one night when Ricky appeared at her front door on a stormy night at 1:30 in the morning.

She immediately let him in no questions asked. She was thankful that Kourtney had gone home for the weekend because he doesn't like being vulnerable around anyone else but her.

She brings him to her bedroom and waits patiently for him to say what was bothering him so much. She just hugged him as he stared blankly at the floor. They probably sat there on her bed for ten whole minutes before he even said a word.

"My mom is pregnant with Todd's baby."

She looks at him with sympathetic eyes and hugs him a little harder waiting for him to continue.

"She's just gonna replace me with some other kid. She already left me in the dust when she left my dad and I in 9th grade, but now she for sure will forget about me since she'll have a baby to care for."

"Ricky don't you dare say that. Your mother will still love you no matter what even if she has a shitty way of showing it."

"I feel like such a selfish ass for being jealous of an unborn kid especially since I'm literally 21 and don't rely on my parents anymore. I just don't know what to do Neens. I'm a mess."

She reaches up and kisses his cheek tenderly. "I'm right here. What can I do?"

He finally looks at her and brings her body closer to his. "Just be here with me."

She brings his lips to hers, and they do it that night. He already felt himself calm down as he laid next to her. She gave him the occasional kiss throughout the night. He spends the night. 

***

Ricky's dad ends up scoring some hockey tickets, but had to give his two tickets to his son and Nini since he ended up having a business meeting that same day. Nini happily agreed to go along with Ricky even though she wasn't a huge sports fan.

Anytime spent with him was fun regardless of what they were doing. They walked into the stadium with her hugging his frame. She overheard a few people awe at them assuming they were a couple. 

They've been confused for a couple so many times that it didn't even bother them anymore. Matter of fact, they stopped correcting people after third time it happened. They actually were more shocked when people didn't assume they were a couple.

When they find their seats, Nini realized that she forgot to buy them food before they say down like she promised as compensation for the tickets. 

"Hey I'm gonna go get some hot dogs for us. I'll be back in a second."

She makes her way to the concession, but she wasn't looking where she was going and as a result bumped into a man by accident. The man's hot dog had fallen to the ground in the process, and Nini felt horrible.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I'll get you a new one; I promise." She reached down to pick up the hot dog so she could throw it away.

"It's honestly fine. No need to pay me back. I probably shouldn't be eating unhealthy stadium food anyways." The man chuckled.

She finally met eyes with him, and she couldn't help the blush that appeared on her cheeks. He was a very attractive man who was maybe a few inches taller than her. He had kind eyes and a nice tone of voice.

"How can I make this up to you if you won't accept me paying for your meal? I can't just not do anything. My guilt would kill me."

"How about I take you on a date and we'll call it even?"

Nini surprised by his offer. She can't even recall the last time she was asked on a date. "Oh um wow uh sure yeah that sounds great. I'm Nini by the way." She held out her hand for him and he shook it.

"Ethan. It's nice to meet you Nini. How does dinner next Friday sound?"

“Uh yeah I should be good for that day. Give me your number so we can talk details.” 

They exchange numbers. “Alright Nini, it was a pleasure meeting you. I’d better get back to my seat; I’m pretty sure my friends are gonna send out an amber alert.” 

She giggles and fiddles with her hair. “Yeah I should too. Nice meeting you Ethan!” They part ways, and Nini goes to the hot dog stand. While she was waiting in line, she got a text. 

_Ethan: It was really nice meeting you today Nini :)_

She couldn’t help but beam when she saw his message.

_Nini: Yeah you too :)_

When she got the food, she sat down next to Ricky with a stupid smile imprinted on her face. He automatically noticed she was a lot more chipper than she was when she left. 

“What’s got you all smiley?”

“Oh am I smiley? I didn’t even notice. I just bumped into someone when I went to get our food; that’s all.”

He rose a brow since her explanation didn’t really explain why she was so bubbly. “I feel like there’s more to that story.”

“That’s because there is! I accidentally knocked over this really nice guy’s food, and he asked me out on a date next Friday. We exchanged numbers and everything. I gotta admit I’m pretty excited. I don’t think I’ve been on a date since high school.”

Ricky’s smile faltered slightly. “Oh that’s great. Hope you have fun.” He tried his best to sound genuine, but for some reason he felt so weird about some stranger taking his best friend out.

He spends the rest of the game trying to keep his mind off of this mysterious man she had been nonstop texting throughout this entire game. He had to refrain from rolling his eyes when he overheard her laugh at something he typed.

When the game ends, Ricky feels like he was third wheeling with some random dude who wasn’t even sitting with them for two hours.

He walks Nini to her door like he always does. She gets on her tippy toes and places a fleeting kiss on his cheek. Even though he was in a bad mood for most of the day, that gentle kiss made him feel a little better. 

“Thanks for taking me today. It was fun! I’ll see you tomorrow.” She gave him a final hug before she entered her home.

He leaned against the wall and sighed. He doesn’t know why he felt so agitated after that game. A part of him kind of knew, but he wasn’t willing to admit that out loud yet.

***

Nini ended up pursuing this mystery guy, and she literally couldn’t stop bringing him up at random times. Ricky had to admit that he wasn’t a big fan of that. He had nothing actually against this guy; it’s not like he was some horrible person or anything. But surely he can’t be _that_ great.

She can’t stop talking about the little date she had with him with the gang, and the rest of the friends loved to hear all about this Ethan fellow. Carlos actually asked if she planned on possibly dating him, and Ricky felt a weird sensation in his gut when he saw how giggly Nini got at the question.

A few days later, Nini had texted Ricky saying that she wanted to pause the pact for now since she intended on taking Ethan seriously.

He had no problem not having sex with her, but what bothered him the most was that she actually planned on possibly dating this dude. This random dude who didn’t know nearly anything about Nini just swept her off of her feet.

He also realized that if it gets serious, he’d have to eventually meet the dude. He clenches his jaw and tightens his grip on the couch pillow just at the thought of it. His thoughts are interrupted when Big Red snaps in front of his face.

“Dude are you okay? I’ve been calling your name for like ten seconds now.”

“Oh sorry man. What’s up?”

“Well I was gonna ask if you wanted some pizza, but now I’m more concerned what had you so distracted that you couldn’t hear me a few inches away from you.”

“It’s nothing dude; don’t worry about me. To answer your question, yeah I’d love some pizza.”

“Ricky I’ve been pretty silent with your odd behavior in the past few months, and I think it’s time that we actually speak what’s on your mind for once. Something tells me I actually know what’s going on right now.”

Ricky looks at him with both confusion and a little fear of Red possibly knowing about the pact. “What do you think is going on?”

“You’re jealous of Ethan.”

Ricky was taken aback by his words. “What? That’s insane! I’m not jealous of wonder boy. What makes you say that?”

Big Red rolled his eyes. “Dude come on. You surely have to know that you’re head over heels in love with Nini. It’s even obvious to someone as oblivious as me, which is saying a lot.”

“I don’t like her like that. She’s just a really good friend; I swear.”

“Best friends don’t stare at each other longingly like lovesick puppies. Also, don’t think I haven’t noticed you two being extra close in the past few months. Well not too much recently since she’s met Ethan.”

Ricky rolls his eyes and physically tenses up just at the mention of his name. 

“Ha! That was a test! You got annoyed just by the mention of Ethan, which wouldn’t happen unless you had some feelings for Nini.”

Ricky groans and gets up from his spot on the couch. “I’m not having this conversation. Just knock or text me whenever the pizza is here.”

Ricky didn’t get much sleep that night too focused on his relationship with a certain brunette.

***

Ricky had been typing away on his laptop in one of the empty student lounges when two hands had covered his eyes.

“Guess who?”

Ricky faintly smiles noticing the voice immediately.

“Is it Natalie Portman?”

“I wish.”

“Then I’m not interested.”

Nini playfully hits his shoulder and sits beside him. “Sorry to disappoint, but it’s just your favorite friend in the world.”

“And why do you assume that you’re my favorite friend? That’s a little cocky of you Sal-Robs.”

“Shut up, we both know it’s true.”

“Yeah you’re right.”

“Anyways, I was just strolling by and saw you and wondered if you wanted to hang out. I feel like we haven’t seen much of each other since I started hanging with Ethan a few weeks ago.”

His happy demeanor immediately turned sour when she speaks his name. “Yeah you really left me in the dust the past few weeks.” His words come off a little more passive aggressive than he meant.

“Yeah I know. That’s why I wanted to try to hang with you before Ethan and I go to Park City Festival for the weekend.”

This time he didn’t hold back his agitated groan as he rolled his eyes. She picked up on his negative attitude. 

“Ugh I’m soooo fucking tired of hearing that dude’s name all the time. It’s Ethan this or Ethan that. Like I get it you like him.”

She scrunches her face in anger. “Well excuse the fuck out of me for talking about my romantic life with my friend who I thought would be happy for me.”

“Yeah well I’m not exactly gonna be ecstatic about you gushing about some guy all the time.”

She gets up from her seat and glares daggers down at him. “Well congratulations, you won’t have to anymore.”

“Great!”

“When you’re done being a dick Ricky, then maybe we can talk.”

She slammed the door as she stormed out of the lounge room. 

He threw his pencil case at the wall and rested his head on his hands aggressively gripping his curls.

He knew he was totally in the wrong and that she didn’t deserve that outburst. He slumped down in his chair. He was such a fucking idiot.

***

A week goes by without them saying a word to each other, and this time it hurt Ricky more than the first hiatus despite it being shorter because it was completely his fault.

He had told Big Red about what he said to her and finally admitted that it was out of jealousy. Big Red tried his best to comfort him and distract him from her, but it was literally impossible for him to not think about Nini.

He had been walking in what he thought was an empty field when he heard silent whimpering from someone sitting against a tree. His curiosity got the best of him, and he checks to see who was crying.

His heart drops when he sees Nini crying with her head in her lap. Without a second thought, he sat down beside her startling her in the process.

“Ricky what’re you doing here?”

“I happened to be walking by and overheard you crying. Look I know we’re in a fight right now, but if you want to, you can tell me what’s wrong.”

She wipes away a few of her tears. “It’s Ethan.”

He balls his fists already in fighting mode. He doesn’t know what happened yet, but he has a bad feeling that Ethan might’ve done something unforgivable.

Nini picks up on Ricky’s posture and rest her hand on top of his. “No, he didn’t do anything bad. He just ended our relationship if I can even call it that.”

Ricky calmed down a bit. “Why’d he end it?”

She looks blankly into the horizon. “Because I couldn’t commit to him. I didn’t want a relationship with him when he asked, and I guess that’s not what he wanted to hear.”

Ricky was actually pretty shocked. “I thought you wanted a relationship with him.”

“I thought so too, but something just...didn’t feel right. Like somehow in my gut I knew he wasn’t the one, so I said no. Even though I’m the one who rejected him, I feel like crap.”

He tangled their fingers together causing her to look at him. “Don’t feel like that. If it didn’t feel right, then you were right to reject him. You probably saved both him and yourself from a fruitless relationship by stopping it before it started.”

The corner of her lips shifted upward. “Yeah I guess you’re right.” 

They sat in silence for a while just enjoying the company of the other. Nini laid her head on his shoulder as they both looked out into the field. 

“I’m sorry for the way I acted last week. It was totally uncalled for.”

She waves it off. “It’s fine; I’m over it now. I actually have been over it for a little while now. I was waiting for you to approach me when you finally calmed down.”

“Yeah I’m still sorry though. I think I was just jealous he was taking your attention from me, and now that I’m saying it out loud I realize how childish it sounds.”

She smiles for the first time since he had gotten there. “Yeah you’ve never been a fan of sharing. You could probably blame that on your only child syndrome.”

He chortles and nudges her. “How about as an apology I treat us to Korean BBQ? I know how much you love that.”

She smiles so hard that the ends of her eyes crinkle. “Yes! I haven’t that in forever. Leave it up to you to make me feel good again.”

She swiftly gets on her feet and pulls him up with her eager to get to the restaurant. 

“Okay geez Neens I’m coming.”

As she held his hand and guided them towards the parking lot, all he could think about was how much he missed the feeling of her hand in his. He thought of what Red said a while back about him loving her. The more he thought about it, the less insane that theory sounded.

***

They both notice the shift in their relationship, but neither pursue it too afraid of what it could lead to. 

Neither have brought up the pact they made so many months ago since they both hadn’t seen the point in it anymore. They haven’t done it in months anyways, however they did gain the habit of spending the night with each other. 

One night, Big Red comes home to see the TV playing a rerun of That ‘70s Show, but doesn’t see anybody watching it. He goes to turn the TV off, but halts when he sees someone is indeed on the couch.

Ricky and Nini were in spooning position with a blanket covering them fast asleep. Ricky was holding on to her as if his life depended on it, and both of them had the most peaceful smiles on their faces.

He pulls out his phone careful to make sure his flash is off and snaps a photo of the couple. He sent it to the friend group chat. In less than a minute, Ashlyn and Gina already responded. Red knew that Ricky would probably kick his ass when he sees it in the morning, but he thinks it will be totally worth it.

***

Nini couldn’t stand this long held secret anymore. She was sure that if she didn’t say anything, she’d explode.

They had been in her bedroom doing their own little things. He was focusing on his final exam review at her desk while she was fiddling with her ukulele trying to create a melody of a song.

She couldn’t stop thinking about her established feelings towards her best friend. Deep down, she knew he was the one she had loved for a long time now but denied it because of her fear of rejection.

When she couldn’t hold it any longer, she tosses her ukulele to the side and walks to him. Her loud motions cause him to direct his attention the girl standing in front of him.

“Neens what’s-

“I love you.”

He drops his pencil on the ground and stares at her in disbelief.

“Looking back on how our relationship has progressed in the past few months, I noticed that I literally cannot go a single second without you on my mind. Even when we were fighting, all I thought was: how’s Ricky? I hope Ricky ate today. I wonder if he’s thinking about me too. And I’m pretty sure I rejected Ethan because deep down I knew he’d never come close to you. Ricky I love you so damn much it hurts.”

Ricky continued to look at her in pure shock. She automatically began to regret everything she said when he didn’t say anything. 

“You know what? It’s fine if you don’t feel the same way. Just forget everything I-

He shoots up from her chair and pulls her face to his in a deep loving kiss. She takes a second to register that he’s kissing her before she finally kisses back. When they release each other’s lips, they’re both panting.

“Nini of course I love you too. God I’m crazy for you.”

She smiles. “You mean it?”

He crosses his his finger over his chest. “I cross my heart.”

“So does that mean we can finally kiss in public and do all that couple stuff?”

He nods. “Yes it does, but let’s be real babe we’ve been doing that already.”

She makes a goofy smile and closes the small space between their lips. 

They make love for the first time that night.

***

“Do you think those two idiots found out they love each other yet? I’m trying to win a bet with Red.” Gina says.

“Probably not. They both are so blind to the others feelings.” Ashlyn states.

“I don’t know. I just kind of have a weird sixth sense feeling that they figured everything out by now.” Red said as he unlocked his apartment’s front door.

When the gang walks in, they’re greeted by Ricky and Nini making out in the kitchen. They didn’t even notice that someone had walked in.

“I guess I win the bet.” Red says to Gina.

When the pair hears their friend’s voice, they separate but neither look remotely fazed or embarrassed. 

“So are you guys official yet?” Ashlyn asks.

Ricky and Nini look at each other and smile.

“Yeah, it’s official.”

The gang all cheer.

“It’s about damn time.”

***

_Today I love you more than ever; tomorrow I will love you even more. I need you more than ever; I want you more than ever._

**Author's Note:**

> Nobody makes me laugh more than I make my own self laugh when I make the titles of these fics. Last quote is from Love Rosie.
> 
> Hope you liked it!!!!


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